Ashur-nasir-pal II

Background

Ashur-nasir-pal II, also spelled Aššur-nāṣir-apli was the king of Assyria between 883 BCE and 859 BCE during the period of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. His named means "Ashur is guardian of the heir" and was the son of Tukulti-Ninurta II who was the previous king. One of his notable achievements was the relocation of the Assyrian capital from Ashur to Kalhu/Nimrud.

Ashur-nasir-pal II was known to have engaged in a great military campaign that managed to acquire territory and tribute as far away as Phrygia and the tribe of the Nairi located in Anatolia. He also invaded the civilization of Aram as well as the Neo-Hittites. Due to his ruthlessness and brutality he experienced a revolt during his reign that he suppressed within two days. According to an inscription on a monument detailing the aftermath Ashur-nasir-pal II;

"Their men young and old I took prisoners. Of some I cut off their feet and hands; of others I cut off the ears noses and lips; of the young men's ears I made a heap; of the old men's heads I made a minaret. I exposed their heads as a trophy in front of their city. The male children and the female children I burned in flames; the city I destroyed, and consumed with fire".

Following this victory over the rebels he advanced all the way to the Mediterranean Sea where he subjugated Phoenicia and demanded tribute from them. This conquering of territory would set the precedent for the later great kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire who would continue to build upon the original ideas of the Assyrian ancestor the Akkadian Empire in establishing an empire all across Mesopotamia into northern Africa where the rich civilization of Egypt lay.